It is well known that some people have problems with one or more joints in their body, including in their feet and/or hands, and/or with the healing of broken bones. For example, many people suffer from potentially painful conditions with their toes, such as claw toe, mallet toe, hammer toe, or curly toe. Several procedures have been developed to treat these and other conditions and/or to treat and encourage the proper healing of broken bones. However, existing treatments are not entirely satisfactory.